Reckitt says many cases filed against baby formula makers

Reckitt said on Monday that many cases had been filed against baby formula makers in general, but it was unclear how many directly related to its unit’s Enfamil product.

An Illinois jury last week ordered Reckitt unit Mead Johnson to pay $60 million to the mother of a premature baby who died of an intestinal disease after being fed the company’s Enfamil baby formula.

The jury in an Illinois state court in St. Clair County last week found Mead Johnson was negligent and had failed to warn of the risk of necrotising enterocolitis (NEC). The disease, which causes the death of bowel tissue, mostly affects premature newborns and has a fatality rate of about 15% to 40%.

Traders told Reuters on Friday there were concerns in the market that more cases would be made against Mead Johnson. Shares of Reckitt, which owns brands such as Lysol, Dettol and Strepsils, that day suffered their steepest one-day drop since 1999, making it the top loser on London’s blue-chip FTSE 100.

“Case numbers will continue to fluctuate,” an executive said on a call to discuss last week’s verdict. “New cases will be filed and some will be dismissed. And we need to determine whether we’re actually involved in the litigation.”